Akufo-Addo Highlights Gains Made Under Planting For Food

President Akufo-Addo has touted government’s planting for food and jobs program, adding that the gains made in the agric sector is proof that the country is being managed well.

According to him, government’s flagship program, planting for food and jobs has significantly improved the agriculture sector.

Addressing MMDCEs at an orientation conference in Madina on Wednesday [3rd October 2018], the President attributed government’s effort to end the importation of maize to the introduction of the planting for food and jobs.

He explained that there have been significant strides in the Agriculture sector as a result of government policy interventions.

President Nana Addo explained that his government has made progressive gains in all aspects of the economy especially in areas of education, health and agriculture.“..In education we have implemented the Free SHS policy which has enabled 270,000 more Ghanaian youth to access senior high school than they otherwise would have done. In health, we have revived the National health insurance scheme so that the NHIS card is once again meaningful or in Agriculture where we instituted the program of planting for food and jobs which ensures that this year we do not import a single grain of maize,“ the President said to MMDCES.

Akufo-Addo launches 2018 Ghana census of agriculture

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in June this year, launched the Ghana Census of Agriculture for the formulation of strategies and policies, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of the agricultural sector.

The last Agriculture census was conducted 33 years ago.

President Akufo-Addo noted that there had been dramatic changes in the structure and content of Ghana’s agriculture, as the policy has been mainly based on guesswork.

“It is no wonder that this period witnessed the systematic decline of our agriculture. We cannot afford such neglect again. It is my fervent wish and hope that this 2018 Ghana Census of Agriculture will be the beginning of a new cycle of ten-year censuses, as we used to have,” the President said.

Deputy Agric Minister, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has said the NPP government has had a better cocoa production and pricing regime as compared to the NDC which spent more on the sector.

According to him, the NPP made a projection of 850, 000 metric tonnes but has been able to produce in excess of 968,000 metric tonnes of cocoa with a loan of ¢1.3bn from the Netherlands.

Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View, on Wednesday [3rd October 2018] the the Akim Swedru MP mentioned that President Nana Addo’s government has seen a higher productivity rate in the cocoa industry as compared to the NDC.

He explained that even though the NDC went in for a higher loan for the cocoa industry they were only able to produce 690, 000 tonnes.